Support for the 100,000 Strong Foundation continues to grow and this week we were honored to count House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) among our newest friends. On Monday evening, Leader Pelosi served as the keynote speaker at our inaugural Spring Dinner, where she spoke about the importance of study abroad and Mandarin language learning to the US-China relationship.

The enthusiastic participation of Pelosi, Wicker and Larsen demonstrated that the Foundation’s mission of a strengthening US-China relations through study abroad — one student at a time — is a bipartisan one, and perhaps the greatest investment we can make in the future of the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship.

We were also delighted to be joined by many of the Foundation’s top advisors as well as senior US and Chinese government officials, business executives, philanthropists, journalists, academic leaders and US-China experts. This high-level group gathered to celebrate the significant progress we’ve made since the Foundation was launched by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton just four short months ago. It was a terrific evening!

Also this week, the Foundation’s Board of Directors convened, holding its first biannual meeting at the American University’s School of International Service in Washington, DC. The Board comprises a diverse and talented group of individuals who are leaders in their respective fields. I am so grateful for their commitment and strategic guidance. With their leadership, 100,000 Strong will succeed in building a national movement to increase the number and diversity of Americans studying in China. This is so important – the future of US-China relationship rests with our young people.

I look forward to sharing many more exciting events with you in the weeks and months ahead.

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The US-China Strong Foundation is a nonprofit organization that seeks to strengthen US-China relations by investing in a new generation of leaders who have the knowledge and skills to engage with China.